In truth, a glass is neither half-full nor half-empty

When this podgy little bundle first popped into life, my parents raised a glass

I did not know it then, but this world was abundant, and my glass was full of time

But at the same moment, the glass was empty, empty of my life experience

As a babe in arms, I suckled at my mother's breast, and her glass was never half empty

As a toddler, I stumbled and fell, and in those faltering moments I began to fill my glass

My parents did the best they could to teach me all they knew, and slowly the benchmark on my glass rose

I went to school to learn more, and my glass was topped up with endless years of education and indoctrination

My puberty and teenage years were fraught with confusion and exhilaration, and it seemed my glass was full to overflowing

But then came work, relationships, and adulthood, and still, my glass was not yet half full

I fell in love and discovered there was even more to life than self-gratification, and my glass filled more quickly

I built a castle for my queen and filled her with my love, and champagne bubbles spilt from my glass

Then came the news, my love was with child, and in celebration, I raised a glass

The castle walls echoed with the sound of our little princess's first cries, and I thought for sure that my glass was full

In the forty years that have passed, I have discovered that my glass is neither half-full nor half-empty and that it is only a measure of my life's experience

The gathering of experience will continue until my last breath, and only then when my glass is full, will I know that my work is done

I must remember that my life cannot be taken with me, and therefore, will take every opportunity, to share it

So, with that knowledge, and with my final glass, a toast will be raised for my journey into the unknown, where it will be filled with eternity